The nightmarish disaster that was the 2021-22 Manchester United season is now over, so the squad overhaul can now begin. Of all the players that have a questionable future with the club, Mason Greenwood is the most complicated.
You have heard the tapes by now, they are haunting and disturbing to say the least. Just alarming and cringe-worthy. His situation is so much bigger than football, and we just have to let the criminal case run its course.
Manchester United Summer Transfer Window Keep or Cut Series
Midfielders Attack Defenders Goalkeepers
“Let’s wait for the judgement, if he’s proven innocent he would definitely get a place in my team,” newly installed manager Erik ten Hag said over the weekend.
“He’s an exceptional talent who can play on the left wing, right wing, centre forward and false nine.”
The 20-year-old Englishman was charged with rape and assault in January, and has since been dropped by his sponsors. Despite not even playing since January, he was United’s third-leading scorer this season.
Greenwood will remain suspended until the legal process runs its course.
And it won’t be until after that that we can really make any kind of prediction about what might happen to him.
He will remain on conditional bail until mid-to-late June, when he has his court date.
Honestly, this young man might have been, could have been and should have been the future of United’s attack, but now it’s quite possible that he may never play for the team again. Mason Greenwood might not even play football anywhere, ever again.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.